Portugal, 2005

I

am returning to the Assembly Hall after 10 years. In

September 1995, I had the honour of being elected

President of the General Assembly. I well know,

therefore, what a difficult task it is, and I congratulate

you, Mr. President, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, on your

recent election. I wish you every success in discharging

your lofty functions. I would also like to compliment

the outgoing President, Mr. Ping, on the exceptional

work that he did during the previous session.

I offer my best wishes to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan. My country greatly values the

excellent work that he has done so far, and the

Portuguese Government wishes to express its solidarity

with him in connection with the difficult times that has

been through, as well as its continued support for the

enormous tasks and challenges that lie ahead.

We share some of the disappointment felt by the

Secretary-General regarding the failure to approve

many of the proposed reforms of the Organization that

he set out in his excellent report, “In larger freedom”.

The entire process started 10 years ago, in 1995-96,

under my presidency, and I can assure the Assembly

that one year later, when I left office, there were

already many consensus-based solutions that could

have been approved. But insufficient use was made of

the 10 years that have since passed.

We are left with the conviction that progress

towards sound reform will be viable only if it

maintains, as its reference, the objectives set out in the

proposals of the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.

What is sound reform of the United Nations? In

my opinion, such reform would fulfil, at least, the

following five prerequisites.

First, such reforms must respect and reaffirm the

fundamental principles and values of the Charter.

Secondly, they must create better conditions for the

maintenance and re-establishment of peace,

guaranteeing security and dealing with the offenders in

either case. Thirdly, they must include strong measures

in support of development so as to improve the living

conditions of the world’s poorest countries and reduce

the enormous gap that exists between the countries of

the North and those of the South.

Fourthly, such reforms must promote democracy,

human rights and the rule of law, internationally, as

well as within each State. Fifthly, they must establish a

basis and the necessary conditions for a better

understanding among peoples, for a dialogue among

civilizations, for an understanding of cultural and

religious diversity, and for a spirit of tolerance,

cooperation and friendship among nations,

Governments and individuals.

In addition to those five prerequisites, there is

still a need to consider reorganizing the Secretariat,

which is an important instrument for attaining the

objectives of the United Nations. Make no mistake: I

have enough personal experience to be able to state

that the staff of this Organization is, generally

speaking, highly competent, dedicated and

professional. But we must all understand that, in a

large Organization such as this one, like in any other,

there will always be a need for constant modernization.

Last week the United Nations reform was set in

motion. We must continue to work hard, year after

year, phase by phase, with the energy and the spirit of

compromise that is the hallmark of diplomacy and

which must therefore not be absent from the “temple of

diplomacy” that is the United Nations.

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First and foremost, the tasks to be accomplished

in the coming months — which have Portugal’s

unreserved support — will be to do what is necessary

to make the Peacebuilding Commission operational; to

implement the already approved concept of the

“responsibility to protect”; and to establish the new

Human Rights Council.

Development is an urgent task that cannot be

postponed. The poorest countries call for justice, and

they deserve it; the richest countries insist on a code of

ethics, and they must therefore fulfil the duties that

derive from it.

In that regard, Portugal fully endorses the vision

expressed and reaffirmed by the United Nations which

accords priority to development — understood to be

comprehensive development, as expressed in the

Millennium Development Goals — and which is

closely linked to security and the rule of law.

Democracy and security constitute the sine qua non

condition for effective, sustained and equitable

development.

In terms of official development assistance,

Portugal hopes to reach the agreed target of 0.51 per

cent of gross domestic product in 2010, in order to

pave the way to achieving the ambitious goal of 0.7 per

cent in 2015.

The efforts of Portugal have been mainly — but

not exclusively — directed towards the least developed

countries, and sub-Saharan Africa in particular.

We therefore reaffirm the need to pay active and

committed attention to the special needs of Africa. In

that way, we will fulfil effectively the commitments

undertaken to strengthen cooperation with the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development and with

regional and subregional organizations.

The report of the Secretary-General rightly

reminds us that every country is primarily responsible

for its own development, in a framework of good

governance, which is a prerequisite in this context.

Basically, it is a matter of implementing the

eighth Millennium Goal: to create a global partnership for

development, whose importance in promoting a more

equitable and just world I would like to stress here.

That is why I have no hesitation in stating that we

must remain actively committed to the implementation

of the Millennium Development Goals, including

strengthening action in priority areas. Our common

future is at stake, and I would like to take this

opportunity to announce that Portugal has decided to

contribute to the United Nations Democracy Fund.

For Portugal, environmental concerns are a clear

priority; addressing them must promote, not detract

from, development. In that domain, we will actively

participate in international efforts to combat climate

change, honouring our commitments and limiting

greenhouse-gas emissions, so that the European Union

can attain the goals agreed in the context of the Kyoto

Protocol. We hope that the next Conference, to be held

in Montreal, will mark the launching of a negotiating

process on climate-related issues for the post-2012

period.

One of the most serious threats to peace and

security today is terrorism. It must be fought with

resolve, within the framework of the rule of law and

with respect for human rights. There can be no doubt

that one of the aims of terrorists is to weaken and

distort even the most elementary of the universal

values adopted by States and their peoples. Because we

are fighting back in self-defence, they say that our

actions — theirs and ours — are morally equivalent.

Portugal strongly rejects that view.

There can be no ambiguity in fighting terrorism.

We must be clear on this and state, quite bluntly, that

all acts that aim to kill or seriously injure civilians or

non-combatants are acts of terrorism.

We believe that the United Nations provides a

framework of reference for combating terrorism, and

we therefore urge that a global convention on terrorism

be adopted. Similarly, we welcome the counter-

terrorism strategy drawn up by the Secretary-General,

and we appeal for its effective implementation.

In that context, Portugal will sign the

International Convention for the Suppression of Acts

of Nuclear Terrorism during this session of the General

Assembly.

We must recognize that the largest cluster of

threats to international peace and security today lies in

the broader Middle East. Regardless of countries’

positions on the Iraq war, it is now essential to do all

we can, based on the clear existing mandates of the

United Nations, to see that peace, democracy and

human rights triumph. That could take a number of

years, as in Afghanistan.

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Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is

important that, taking advantage of the current positive

momentum, we hold serious negotiations aimed at

reaching bilateral and multilateral agreements. The

road map cannot be forgotten or indefinitely

postponed. Just as Israel has an unquestionable right to

live in peace within secure borders, the Palestinian

State also has an unquestionable right to exist. Only

through what is called the two-State policy can there be

peace in the Middle East.

As for Iran, I should like to stress and support the

efforts of the European Union to avert, through

negotiations, another dangerous case of nuclear

proliferation. The international community as a whole

and the Iranian people themselves owe a great deal to

the intelligent approach of the European Union in this

matter. We are, and will continue to be, united in

solidarity. Negotiations must continue.

Portugal is committed to strengthening

cooperation among regions and civilizations in order to

promote international peace and stability. Accordingly,

the high-level political dialogue between Europe and

Africa must be further strengthened, including through

the convening of the Europe-Africa summit, towards

which Portugal has been working tirelessly.

I reiterate Portugal’s appeal to all interested

parties to join in our effort to re-launch the Cairo

process, which we believe could be instrumental in

establishing that strategic partnership.

I also wish to publicly place on record my

country’s support for Spain’s Alliance of Civilizations

initiative. The European-African dialogue is also a

dialogue among civilizations, as is the Ibero-American

process, to which Portugal, Spain, Andorra and the Latin

American countries are committed. That process will be

formalized at the Salamanca Summit in October.

Over the past nine years, the dialogue among the

eight States members of the Community of Portuguese-

Speaking Countries — which represents 200 million

people living in four continents — has been intensified,

with great success. Portugal participates in the dialogue

with countries from Europe, Africa, Latin America and

Asia, a dialogue that it would like to see broadened as

an indispensable tool for civilizations to live in peace

and not be at war.

I would like to conclude by reaffirming

Portugal’s faith in the centrality, legitimacy and

indispensable role of the United Nations. While not

forgetting our setbacks, but learning from them so that

they are not repeated, we should bear in mind our

many successes. Timor-Leste, which is here with us

today as a full Member State, is one example of a

United Nations success story.

In conclusion, I would like to remember the wise

words of our second Secretary-General, Dag

Hammarskjöld, who said:

(spoke in English)

“The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in

a few years in either victory or defeat. The

pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and

its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never

be relaxed and never abandoned.”